Boat



w. A. HlcKMAN BOAT July 11, 195o Filed May 3, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 @SCX lm f` cu@ l July 115 1950 w. A. HlcKMAN 2,515,005

BOAT

Filed May 5, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 11, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOAT' William Albert Hickman, Brookline, Mass.4

Application May 3, 1945, Serial N 591,708' claims'. (c1. 114-665) This invention relates to boats and the object is to provide certain improvements, applicable particularly to craft of relatively large size,'

with the accompanying drawings which show a general way a preferred form of one embod1" ment of my invention and in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the boat;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view thereof; and

Figs. 3 to 8 are sections on the correspondingly numbered lines of Fig. 1.

It will be understood that all figures show the lines of the hull rather than its physical construction and are therefore to an extent diagrammatic. l

While the principles of my invention are capable of wide modication and, as indicated by the generic language of the annexed claims, may be incorporated in hulls of widely varying form, a refined embodiment thereof may resemble the structures shown by way of example as preferred specifically describe the same by contrasting the disclosure with the` exemplary preferred forms illustrated in those patents.

Referring to the drawings, I have there shown a hull similar to that shown in my Patent 1,204,355 having a transverse stem I2 defining the maximum beam of the boat and from which of the sides.

such a boat in which the kee1isabove'the chimes is common-.1y referred to as an inverted V-bottom vboat and the concavity may in fact, as herein,

be a V in the more limited popular sense of` the word, although neither the construction nor thel technical understanding of the expression inverted V-bottomfso requires.

In the case of motor boats having relatively high speedsl in relation to their lengths, a hull such as describedavoids the danger of improper action in running straight ahead in rough water.

There is, however, a danger of such a boat being ca'psized when turning when running at high speeds either in rough or smooth water, this capsizing being caused by an action generally known as tripping the more or less vertical side of the boat catching suddenly in the water while the boat is sliding or skidding rapidly sidewise along the water surface in the course of a high speed turn.

To overcome this danger of capsizing because of tripping of the boat during a turn made while running at high speed, I described in my Patent 1,620,349 anti-tripping surfaces 24 (see Fig. 4)

in the form of a fore and aft surface on each side of the boat in the general region between the side I4 and bottom I6 of the boat. Such surfaces cannot be strictly classed as a part of the bottom of the boat, nor can they strictly be called a, part They extend from the chine 20 or outer edge of theV bottom proper in a single step inclining upwardly and outwardly athwartships and may, as herein, terminate at the side I4 of the boat. Herein I have shown the surfaces 24 as forming a -distinct angle or upper chine line. 26 at its juncture with the side and a similar distinct angle at the chine 20 although the form of the connection may vary. The important feature in the designy of these surfaces as the upright sides Ill extend aft anda bottom comprising the two halves IS symmetrically disposed about a keel I8 extending downward from said stem, the two halves transversely l(see Fig. 3) sloping downwardly to chines 20, which also curve downwardly from said stem, in such manner that the bottom of the fboat from a point slightly forward of amidships presents outwardly curved water-engaging surfaces. The halves of the bottom continue their downwardr incline toward the stern of the boat, this incline herein extending substantially to thestern transom 22 and the -boat thus presenting a concavity forward which gradually flattens aft, as is graphically illustrated by the sections, Figs. 3to 8.

described in my former patent was that they inclined outwardly and upwardly from the bottom proper at such an angle that when vthe boat slid sidewise through the water, as during a, turn, the water acting against the leading sloping surface would give a substantial upward thrust to the leading side of the boat, thus tending to incline the boat inwardly on the turn, or to cause it to bank, as it'is ordinarily described. This banking action is frequently assisted by water clinging to .the similar inclined surface on the other side of the boat, or on the side on the inside of the turn, thus causing a pulling down of the inner side'of the boat lbecause of atmospheric pressure. But, independent of all banking or actualinclining action, the most important function of the inclined surface on the side of the boat toward theoutside of the turn was (because of the up-thrust ofthe water upon it) to 4 compensates in part for their relatively low angle. Also, as seen at the right in Fig. 1 and indicated by the numerals 34 and 36, the lines of the chines 20 and 26 are depressed adjacent their after extremities providing a downward turn of the supporting surfaces in the region of the iaftermost portion f the bottom giving `additional 11p-thrust to the hull immediately adjacent to its after end forward and the keel region higher thanthe sides Y 1 of the bottom proper throughout at least th'e forward part of the boat, as inthefhull'` herein; illustrated, the lower chines (outerangles..,or

edges of the bottom proper) were spread apart horizontally, Iaway from the keel, looking forward, and were drawn in toward the keel aft forming diagonal steps. This resulted in a boat that rode highin the bow and was soft-riding in action in rough water, and that presented various other advantages in service, such as extreme dryness'or freedom from flying spray in choppy Water.` I Yet, at the same time there resulted a great reduction of the Varea of the bottom of the boat aft inthe region where a large bottom areav is necessary to carry the weight of theV machinery, if the boat is to plane at an eii'icient angle.

In accordance with my present inventionas distinguished from the disclosure of Ymy lprior patent in which the anti-tripping surfaces afford substantially no lifting area for the afterpart 'of lthe boat when running straight ahead, I now construct the entire after'part of these 'aredsurfaces, embracing the after quarter to one-third of the length of the hull more or less, of such area and at such an angle thatA their after portion ywill receive `water passing yaft and loutward under the lower chinesl or diagonal steps 20 at such an angle as to cause an up-thrustupon the'after part of the boat, thus helping 'to carry; machinery and other weights ywith the boats botton at the mosteicient planinggangle. Most eiciently to effect this reaction of the water Von the surfaces, a water break 28 (Figs. 3 tol 8) may be installed alongfthe-inner chnepresenting a shallow ledge extending inthe liner of thebottom I6 and overhangingthe'surface 2lil forming a shallow shoulder or step facing outward.` This breaks away from the flared surfaces the water `which is moving outwardly from theinner chine so that no adhesionoccursin thisgregion.' The water iiows somewhat as indicated by the'a'rrows'V in Figs. '7 and 8. In Fig. 2 toward the right of the gure I have shown shaded the approximate new pressure areasA engaged by the water as it flows outwardly and aft past the inner chines. The small longitudinal steps illustrated-in my prior patent are not utilized on these surfaces toward the stern'which present, generally speaking, a flat uniform surface to `be engaged by the water to be borne up thereby.

The dotted line at the left of the figure is the approximate Water line which, as .will be understood, varies rapidly with the speed of theboat.

To obtain adequate lifting surfaces the `c utaway chine areas are of relatively large area at a relatively low angle toward'the stern oflth'e boat, but this angle must not be so low, referring to the horizontal, ltransversely 'of the hull, as to lose lifting effect on the vside of the ihull'during turning which is necessaryto assure stability of, the boat while making the most rapid manuvvres. `The relatively large areaof these, surfaces when these areas are engaged by water either 7,10 .flowing aft along the sides, as hereinafter described, or discharged under the inner chines.

I prefer to provide these surfaces between the finnerand:outer chines of relatively great width athwartships without any diminution of the dis- .;tance:between""the lower chines at the stern as contrasted with the disclosure of my prior patent above referred to, the.. sides of the boat Il! may extend substantially parallel to the center line from the point vof maximum beam forward (herein the steml 2) tothe-stern transon 22.

'As seen inFig. l; Athe cut-away chine surfaces extend substantially throughout the water-engaging surfaces-lof the hull. 4In such a construc- 1 tion as lhas been describedwherein'the surfaces Y-along thev1 sidesgand,ingviewr of their relatively great width, to prevent pounding on vthe forward part ofthe `hull-the-angle ofthe cut-awfayrportion is increasedfthroughout'the forward `part-oi the hull, asindicated,-forinstancaby Figs. 3 and 4 in contr-ast `with Figs. 'land 8. This steepening of -the inclination-of the'llcut-away chinefareas in theamidshipandforwardpart of theboatprovides angles which `are notideal for-manuvring, and-with thisconstruction' Il therefore provide the relatively long-and large stepscr Water breaks 30 and 32, the lower-surfaces of these steps, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, being disposedl at an angle similar'to that-ofthe-after surfaces (Fig. 7) and; likewisenprovidingsurfaceswhich may be engaged by ywater lfiowing,A outwardly from vthe chines to give a lift as in` the-case of the surfaces further f aft, the approximate areas-of lift- ;ingqeifort being asyindicated bythe shadingin Fig. 2.

These; steps 3Q land `32 increase in `depthefrom forward aft Aand terminate-in an abrupt shouldern Thus if l we lvconsiderthe -boat proceeding directly forward; thelcut-awaychine surfaces from gage thefbottom surfacegof*thesucceedingI step 32a-nd thence to `the `areas'at the after portion of the boat,the-steps; making ,contact with v the water lwhen the boat is proceeding straight ahead at speed.

v away `chine surfa'cesjherein described, itA maybe said that they-extend longitudinally' substantially 1throughout the length of the water-engagingsur- .l `faces ofthe hull. i Except-for-the'relativelylong and Arelatively widelyspaced steps 3l)A andi- 32, they f present substantiallyj'unbroken surf-acesgof width ,which relatively tothe horizontaldecreases from increasing aft and"y the fathwartshipsy anglejof K' forward tothe after end ofthe bottom(V The angle and thewidth .of ,the` surfaces ei/,en at. theextreme Vg-after .,end, are suchgas, to- .provide a; substantial component oftiorce infthegunwardf,directionsvn j" lateral movement of the boat through the water. Also in the, region adjacent the after portion of the bottom the longitudinalangle of the surfaces to the horizontal increases, as shown at 34 and 3l5. The steps 30 and 32 further forward provide lower surfaces inclined to the horizontal longitudinally downward to support the forward portion of the boat .when it; is moving forward to compensate .for thethrust Tof water on the surfaces aft which wouldotherwise tend to throw the bow rof the boat down. They have -abrupt rear shoulders .which discharge the water thereover to the surfaces further aft additionally to sustain the boat at the points o-f engagement. The lower portions of these steps f also have an athwartships-angle to the horizontal'similar to that of the surfaces further aft rto provideqa substantial upward component efforce when the boat moves laterally through the lwater but the entire forward portion of the area is -no't at Athis low angle so that pounding of the forward section is avoided.

I am aware that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and I therefore desire the present embodiment to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, as is in fact clear in several matters from the description itself. Reference is to be had to the appended claims to indicate those principles of the invention exemplified by the particular embodiment described and which I desire to secure by Letters Patent.

I claim:

1. A boat of the inverted V-bottom type having a bottom defined by a keel, relatively elevated forward and sloping downwardly and rearwardly, and by lateral inner chines defining with the keel inverted sections the width and altitude of which decrease aft, upstanding sides terminating Iat their lower edges in outer chines defining with the inner chines surfaces extending substantially throughout the length of the 'water-engaging portion of the hull and formed as hereinafter described, the boat having her greatest beam well forward and continuing at least without marked diminution to the after Iend of the bottom, the said surfaces increasing in width from forward aft and presenting athwartships angles to the horizontal decreasing from forward to the after end of the bottom, the after portion thereof presenting longitudinal angles to the horizontal increasing aft, the after and flatter portion of said surface being substantially unbroken, and the forward portion having superposed thereon a step inclining aft and downwardly and terminating in an abrupt after edge, the downwardly facing surface of the step presenting an athwartships angle to the horizontal smaller than that of the surface on which it is based.

2. A boat of the inverted V-bottom type having a bottom defined by a keel, relatively elevated forward and sloping downwardly and rearwardly, and by lateral inner chines defining with the keel inverted sections the `width and altitude of which decrease aft, upstanding sides terminating at their lower edges in outer chines defining with the inner chines surfaces extending substantially throughout the length of the waterengaging portion of the hull and formed aas hereinafter described, the boat having her greatest beam well forward and continuing at least without marked diminution to the after end -of the bottom, the said surfaces increasing in width from forward aft and presenting athwartships angles to the horizontal decreasing from forward vto theafter end of the bottom, the after and flatter portion of said surface being substantially 'unbroken and the inner chine having an out- -wardly projecting ledge overhanging the adjacent margin of the surface to direct water flowing from beneath the chine to said after portion of the surface.

3. A boat ofthe inverted V-bottom type having a bottom dened by a keel, relatively elevated forward and sloping downwardly and rearwardly, and -by lateral inner chines defining with the keel inverted sections the width and altitude of which decrease aft, upstanding sides terminating at' their lower edges in outer chines defining with the inner chines surfaces extending substantially ythroughout the length of the water-engaging por- .tion of the hull and formed as hereinafter described, the boat having her greatest beam well forward and continuing at least without marked diminution to the afterend of the bottom, the said surfaces increasing in width from forward aft and presenting athwartships angles to the horizontal decreasing from forward to the after end of the bottom, the after portion thereof presenting longitudinal angles to the horizontal increasing aft, the after and flatter portion of said surface being substantially unbroken, and means located at the forward portion of the surfaces to provide a lifting reaction with the water on the straight ahead movement of the boat to sustain its forward sections against the depressing action thereon of the water discharged under the inner chines to the aforesaid after portions of the surfaces and tending to lift the stern of the boat.

4. A boat of the inverted V-bottom type having a bottom defined by a keel, relatively elevated forward and sloping downwardly and rearwardly, and by lateral inner chines defining with the keel inverted sections the width and altitude of which decrease aft, upstanding sides terminating at their lower edges in outer chines which extend from a point well forward substantially parallel to the longitudinal center line of the boat to the rearmost point of the bottom, said outer chines defining with the inner chines surfaces which extend throughout at least the major portion of the length of the water-engaging portion of the hull to the after end of the bottom, the surfaces increasing in width from forward aft and presenting athwartships angles to the horizontal decreasing from forward to the after end of the bottom and providing an upward component of force when the boat swings but which adjacent the after end of the bottom are relatively wide and of relatively low athwartships angle to extend across the path of water discharged across the inner chines as the boat drives forward to provide a supporting lift on her after portion.

5. A boat of the inverted V-bottom type having a bottom defined by a keel, relatively elevated forward and sloping downwardly and rearwardly,

and by lateral inner chines defining with the keel inverted sections the width and altitude of which decrease aft, upstanding sides terminating at their lower edges in outer chines dening with the inner chines surfaces which extend throughout at least the major portion of the length of the water-engaging portion of the hull to the after end of the bottom, the surfaces increasing in width from forward aft and presenting athwartships angles to the horizontal decreasing from forward to the after end of the bottom and providing an upward component of force when the boat swings but which adjacent the after end of the bottom are relatively Wide and of relatively fllow athwart'shps; angle toi eXt-edY 'aciossithetpath of :.Water discharged across Athe:inner.:chine'spas `the boat vdrives Yforward to. provide afsupporting'dift -ori'lflerr .after portion, ithcsezvportionsvol thel .sur-

faces L forward Viivhich.vv have' -ithe A. greater ..athWart- 4 shipsanglehaving superposed thereon long longitudinal steps, the downwardly facingzsurface'siof which :steps have a smalbathwartships angle.y cor- 4respondingsubstantially to the. angle. ofothe said t surfacesfarther aft toprovidea substantalcom- ,ponent offorce'in the. upward direction onlateral movement ofthe boat throughithe Water; the bottoms; .ofi r'the .steps also being disposed, at a'. llongif tudinaia angle ;.of .incidence to4 thershorizontalf` to supportthe forwardportion of theiboat vto compensate for. the ythrust on the,ksurfacesmaftnand having abrupt rear shoulders dschargingf Water thereover to the surfaces furtheraft. 

